It is also not yet known just how much money Mayweather will be pocketing for this unexpected contest, although we can all assume it is an eye-watering amount.

You would be forgiven for not having heard much of Nasukawa before, so here is how he has earned his shot at the legendary, unbeaten boxer.

Nasukawa made his name in kickboxing (Picture: Getty Images)

Tenshin Nasukawa is just 20-years-old but he has already put together a very impressive CV in combat sports.

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He had competed in over 100 amateur kickboxing fights before he turned 18, and he now holds an exceptional record as a professional, winning all 27 of his bouts.

Nasukawa has also competed in four pro mixed martial arts fights, winning all of them, fighting under the Rizin banner.

He has an extensive record in karate as well, starting the sport at five-years-old and earning a black belt in Kyokushin Kaikan.

Nasukawa is undefeated in mixed martial arts (Picture: Getty Images)

Despite this impressive pedigree in striking, Nasukawa has never boxed as an amateur or a professional.

In comparison, Mayweather has a professional record of 50-0, won world titles at five different weight classes and a bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics.

The American also holds significant physical advantages over the Japanese.

Mayweather stands 5’8″ compared to Nasukawa’s 5’5″ and Floyd most recently weighed in at 149.5lbs, whilst Tenshin fought in September at 125lbs.

Mayweather seems pretty relaxed about taking on the Japanese star (Picture: Getty Images)

It seems extremely unlikely that Mayweather would compete in kickboxing or MMA against Nasukawa, but a boxing match would be painfully one-sided in Floyd’s favour.

‘As far as the weight class and the rules, we’ll talk about that and we’ll get that situated within the next couple of weeks,’ Mayweather said.

‘When it’s all said and done, it’s all about me going out there and displaying my skills against another skillful fighter. We both want to go out there and display our skills and give the people excitement.

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‘This particular bout is a special bout as far as we’re giving the people something they’ve never seen before.’

There is the possibility of the bout being fought under amended, hybrid rules which Rizin do have a history of employing.

What is Rizin?

The Rizin Fighting Federation is a Japanese mixed martial arts company that has been around since 2015.

Whilst a relatively new promotion, they have had a number of notable names fight under their banner, including Fedor Emelianenko, King Mo, Mirko Cro Cop, Kazushi Sakuraba, Ian McCall and Shane Carwin.

Nasukawa is now one of their biggest stars, headlining Rizin 13 in September in a kickboxing bout against Bantamweight Grand Prix Champion Kyogi Horiguchi which Tenshin won by decision.

The card drew a live audience of over 27,000 at the Saitama Super Arena.